CINDERFORD Town continued their strong home form with a 3–1 Hellenic Premier Division victory over Pershore Town at The Causeway, though the scoreline only told part of the story on an afternoon that featured missed chances, key moments of controversy and long spells of visiting pressure.

Pershore arrived in confident mood following a demanding run of fixtures and started the brighter of the two sides. They created the first meaningful opening when Leo Pinches, making his first start since returning to the club, reacted quickest to a defensive mix-up before crossing for Jamie Lucas, whose effort drifted wide with the flag raised.

Pinches remained at the heart of Pershore’s early threat, delivering a corner that Jack Neal met unmarked, only to see his header flash narrowly past the post. Another Pinches set-piece later fell to Macca King on the edge of the area, but his looping effort was comfortably gathered by Lewis James Adams.

The visitors continued to press and went close again when a Jack Griffiths Perry cross found Pinches, whose shot on his weaker foot was blocked over the bar. Despite Pershore’s control and chance creation, it was Cinderford who struck first with their first real opportunity on the half-hour mark. A long ball over the top released Jack Watts, who cut inside to evade a sliding challenge before calmly slotting home.

Pershore almost responded immediately. Lucas beat the goalkeeper to a through ball and looked certain to score, only for his effort to be cleared agonisingly off the line. Moments later, Cinderford doubled their advantage as a corner was not fully dealt with and Watts reacted quickest to fire in his second goal in the space of three minutes.

Chances continued to fall Pershore’s way before the break. A Pinches free kick was met by Lucas, whose effort was tipped away at full stretch, before the same player attempted a delicate lob that dropped just over the bar. Pershore also felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Lucas went down under pressure from Ben Vine, but appeals were waved away, leaving the visitors frustrated at the interval.

Cinderford began the second half positively, exploiting the space as Pershore pushed forward and flashing early efforts over and across the face of goal. Another contentious moment followed when substitute Dan Hanson slipped Lucas through on goal, only for a sliding block to appear to strike a Cinderford arm, but once again Pershore’s penalty appeals were turned down.

The game opened up at both ends. Lucas headed wide, while Ben Vine produced a superb sliding tackle to deny Pershore a clear chance after good work from Griffiths Perry. From a Pershore corner, however, Cinderford delivered the decisive moment. Vine surged forward on a remarkable run from deep, evading several challenges before squaring for Jaxson Hundt to tap home and make it 3–0.

Pershore’s afternoon grew more difficult when Pinches was sin-binned late on, but they did manage a deserved consolation in the closing stages. Development player Charlie Muir, making his first-team debut, received a throw-in and slipped the ball into Griffiths Perry, who finished confidently past Adams.

Cinderford saw out the final moments to secure the points, with Watts named man of the match for his clinical double.